The State of Mildura Rural City's Children & Young People 2014

The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children & Young People 2014 Report 2 The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children & Young People 2014 Report Executive Summary 5 Introduction 8 Indicator of Child Wellbeing: Developing Well 19 Indicator of Child Wellbeing: Safe and Secure 29 Indicator of Child Wellbeing: Engaged, Learning, Achieving 41 Indicator of Child Wellbeing: Happy and Healthy 55 Indicator of Child Wellbeing: Active Citizens 71 Appendix 1: Key Data Sources & Statistical Boundaries 74 Appendix 2: State and National Policy – Local Implementation 82 Prepared by Rachael Williams Local Logic Place PO Box 1493 Swan Hill VIC 3585 0416 201643 www.locallogicplace.com.au [email protected] THE STATE OF MILDURA’S CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE 2014 3 The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children & Young People 2014 Report 4 THE STATE OF MILDURA’S CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE 2014 5 “It is now well established that what happens in the lives of children and young people has consequences – positive and negative – right throughout their life. These have significant impacts on their functioning and opportunities as adults. Society-wide problems such as crime, poor literacy, obesity, heart disease, chronic health problems and welfare dependency often have their Executive origins in the circumstances and environments Summary experienced by children and young people.” Professor Frank Oberklaid Director, Centre for Community Child Health, The State of Bendigo’s Children Report The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children and Young resources, and act as a baseline for knowing whether People 2014 Report was commissioned by Mildura a difference has been made over time. Rural City Council who, in doing so, recognised the critical importance of understanding how While The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children and their children and young people right across the Young People 2014 Report shows that Mildura Rural Municipality were faring. The State of Mildura Rural City’s children and young people are doing well in City’s Children and Young People 2014 Report builds many ways there remains work to be done. on the Early Years Statistical Profile undertaken by ASR Research in 2010 and is an important precursor to the Mildura Rural City Council Municipal Early Where we’re doing well Years Plan scheduled for review in 2014. Compared to the Victorian average, more children Comprehensive and accurate knowledge of how and young people in Mildura Rural City: our children and young people are currently faring together with the direction in which these • Receive their ‘Key Ages and Stages’ home visit and indicators are trending are the basis for informed more families are undertaking their 2 weeks and 4 and coordinated community-wide planning. The months ‘Key Ages and Stages’ checks, State of Mildura Rural City’s Children and Young • ATSI children are also faring better than their People 2014 Report is the foundation for not only Victorian counterparts at their ‘home visit’, 2 weeks ongoing conversations in existing partnerships but and 4 months ‘Key Ages and Stages’ checks, also for new conversations and new partnerships and, • Whilst not faring better than their Victorian in commissioning this Report, Council extends the counterparts rates of completion for the 8 weeks, invitation to all in joining this dialogue. 8, 12 and 18 months, and 2 and 3.5 years ‘Key Ages and Stages’ checks have increased for The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children and Young Mildura Rural City’s children and also for ATSI People 2014 Report examines key factors associated children at the 8 weeks, 8 months and 3.5 years with the well-being and health of children, young KAS checks, people and their families. The Report uses specific • Participate in four year old kindergarten, with this indicators to measure how children and young rate of participation improving dramatically since people in Mildura Rural City are faring compared 2008, to their Victorian counterparts and is an important first step in helping the community decide where to • Report feeling connected to school in years 5–6, focus existing resources, make the case for additional • Are fully vaccinated at 24–27 months, and 6 “...... good data..... assists efforts at advocacy, helps establish priorities, engages diverse stakeholders, and provides a baseline from which to evaluate the efficacy of any interventions.” Professor Frank Oberklaid Director, centre for community child health, The State of Bendigo’s Children Report • Participate in voluntary work for an organisation or • Live in families requiring Family Violence group (those aged 15 years and over). Assessments during a Key Ages and Stages visit, • Are both victims of crime and criminal offenders Areas for improvement (and subsequently more young people aged 10–17 years are on Community Based Supervision orders), Compared to the Victorian average, more children • Live in families experiencing mortgage and rental and young people in Mildura Rural City: stress, • Report being bullied between years 7 to 9, • Experience disadvantage, with the Mildura LGA ranked as the 5th most disadvantaged LGA in • Do not live in families actively engaged with the Victoria according to 2011 SEIFA data, school in supporting their child’s learning, • Live in homes rented from the State Housing • Do not live in families who regularly read to/ Authority, encouraged in their reading at home, • Are part of one parent families, • Are absent from Government schools in both Prep and Year 2, • Are part of ‘jobless’ families, • Are not meeting National Minimum Standards in • Live in families who are Health Care Card holders NAPLAN testing at all Year levels in both Literacy and receiving rent assistance from Centrelink, and Numeracy, • Require assistance with ‘core activities’, • Are without an internet connection at home, • Are ‘developmentally vulnerable’ in AEDI measures • Disengage from Earning and Learning and are including: Two or More Domains, Physical Health subsequently receiving unemployment benefits, and Well-being, Social Competence, Emotional Maturity, Language and Cognitive Skills, and • Experience pregnancy in their teens, Communication and General Knowledge, • Are not fully breastfed at 2 weeks, 3 months and 6 • Enter school with emotional or behavioural months of age, difficulties, • Are not fully vaccinated at 12–15 months and • Experience Child Abuse Substantiations, are on 60–63 months of age, Child Protection Orders and are in Out-of-Home • Experience food insecurity, Care, THE STATE OF MILDURA’S CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE 2014 7 Merbein and surrounds Mildura central Irymple and Nichols Point Red Cliffs and surrounds Mildura Regional Wentworth–Buronga (NSW) • Are overweight at school entry, indicators at geographically smaller predefined • Are low birth weight babies, areas. There are five Australian Bureau of Statistics • Experience smoking In utero, ‘Statistical Area 2s’ (SA2s) within the Mildura LGA, these are: • Are admitted to hospital as the result of an accident, 1. Mildura Central, • Die as infants and children aged 0–4 years, 2. Irymple and Nichols Point, • Are detected with Sexually Transmittable Infections 3. Merbein and Surrounds, as young people, 4. Red Cliffs and Surrounds and • Experience Psychiatric hospitalisations at ages 5. Regional Mildura. 10–17 years, A sixth ‘Statistical Area 2’ area is also presented, the • Are physically inactive, and Wentworth–Buronga SA2, which encompasses the • Live in families reporting inadequate work/life NSW border communities which lie adjacent to the balance and a lack of time for family. Murray River across from the city of Mildura. These Whilst these indicators suggest significant challenges communities include Gol Gol, Buronga, Dareton, for children, young people and their families in Coomealla, Curlwaa and Wentworth. It is widely the coming years, together with the communities recognised that the residents of these NSW border and services offering them structure and support communities seek significant service support from there is also power in this knowledge. Within these their Victorian neighbour and for this reason the challenges lie opportunities for coordination, health and well-being or their children and young collaboration, creativity and achievement, and for people influence service structure and availability to the first time a comprehensive ‘profile’ exists through children and young people in the Mildura LGA. which these achievements can be monitored. These six SA2 reports should be read in conjunction Some indicators presented in The State of Mildura with the overarching The State of Mildura Rural City’s Rural City’s Children and Young People 2014 Children and Young People 2014 Report and used Report mask variations at the community level. For to inform ‘area’ specific programming, planning and this reason the Report also presents all available development. 8 Introduction The State of Mildura Rural City’s Children and • KAS 4 months, 2012/2013 Young People 2014 Report draws on the framework • KAS 8 months, 2012/2013 established in the DEECD The state of Victoria’s • KAS 12 months, 2012/2013 children 2012 Report and the earlier The State of Bendigo’s Children Report in developing a ‘profile’ of • KAS 18 months, 2012/2013 children and young people aged 0–18 years residing • KAS 2 years, 2012/2013 in the Mildura LGA. For consistency the same broad • KAS 3.5 years, 2012/2013 Indicators are used in The State of Mildura Rural Children visit a maternal and child City’s Children and Young People 2014 Report as health nurse- ATSI children were used in its predecessors. Additional measures within each indicator have been included where • KAS Home Visit, 2012/2013 available to create the most comprehensive picture • KAS 2 weeks, 2012/2013 possible of children and young people in the Mildura • KAS 4 weeks, 2012/2013 LGA. Importantly the report framework allows for • KAS 8 weeks, 2012/2013 further measures to be added over time and also for the direction of each measures’ ‘trend’ to be • KAS 4 months, 2012/2013 presented in subsequent reports.

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